The art of brutal refinement

The Mercedes-Benz E250 CDI simultaneously leaves you with a sense of excitement. And calm.

A luxury product has a way of firing emotions in strange and wonderful ways. Visceral inputs like sight, touch, even smell evoke a concert of feelings that can transport you to a different time, or snap you into the immediacy of the present moment. Over the last few days I had the chance to straddle these worlds, ensconced in a microcosm of surprising contradiction – where massive power meets absolute refinement. I’m talking about the new Mercedes-Benz E250 CDI.

Let’s start with the one factor that cars of its ilk are defined by – they are packed to the bloody gills with technology. Being an inveterate geek, I was in my element. But even for those who couldn’t be bothered with the details, it warrants a moment to step back and consider the array of sensory equipment that surrounds you and that bristles from the moment this craft is started up. Be it the numerous ‘Assist’ systems that can do everything from alerting the driver if it senses a lapse in attention and driving response, to the Adaptive High Beam Assist that ‘carves’ the headlight’s beams to prevent the coming traffic from being blinded, the car is constantly thinking, evaluating, responding. Even if you’re accustomed to such a car, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the audience of buttons and lights that surround you, waiting for you to direct the show. But here’s where you see another true advancement – looking beyond the face of this seeming complexity, you begin to sink into a feeling of familiarity that stems from elements being set up and working the way you expect them to; screens delivering relevant information at the right time, and buttons that feel reassuring and intuitively responsive. The more you fiddle with the car’s systems, the faster you understand it. Within the cabin and outside, there’s an unmistakable sense of heft, of craftsmanship, and solidity. And what better way to bring the outside environment to you than a split panoramic sunroof that lends a proper sky view to all passengers (the towering pylons of Mumbai’s Bandra-Worli Sea Link looked especially awesome from this viewpoint). The ‘give’ of the cushioning in the seats, the feel of the precise stitching on the dashboard, the flaunt-worthy cabin lighting (selectable from three hues, in case you’re the colour coordinated kind) and the intriguing texture of that metal-inlayed wood trim – all leaves you with a feeling of contentment. It’s not hard to break out in a placated grin at this point.

And then, you twist the ignition. The show comes to life in the most subtle of manners: No big revs, no throaty growls. Just a low rumble that lets you know that it has been awakened. You feel the seatbelts automatically pull on the tension to hold you to your seat just right. Flick that little transmission control lever into Drive mode, and all you really ever need to do from here on in is point and shoot. The accelerator and brake feel definitively chunky, with just the right amount of give. And they respond just as you’d expect them to: with a sense of immediacy and razor-sharp precision. The 204 hp diesel engine is unspeakably refined, and coupled with its 500 Nm of torque, this car bloody moves. When a brief stretch of empty road becomes available (few and far between within Mumbai’s city limits), you can’t resist but flooring it. And that’s when you sense the concert kicking into absolute wakefulness – a big roar, spine-pinning acceleration, an immediate blip in the speedo. Suddenly, you’re completely alive.

This craft is built for the sprint on long, big roads. It’s steering is taut, and the car hugs the tarmac like it’s on rails. The way it is put together makes you want to push the limits, and with reason – you can happily rocket up that incline or throw yourself into that gentle curve on the Expressway at speeds you never knew you could. And the best part is you don’t feel like you’re transcending any boundaries of sanity – this car notches up those driving limits. Gravel, rumblers, even the odd pothole are effectively nullified by a suspension that feels like it’s sitting on tough marshmallows. I know, you’re trying to imagine it. But that’s just how it rides.

And when you’ve had your fill and decide to get back into a comfortable cruise, this car leaves you with a peaceful, easy feeling. At your fingertips and under your feet, you have control over a creation that can be as feisty or servile as you want it to. It’s an empowering feeling, it is. There are those niggling shortcomings that, as humans, we’re prone notice – the fact that the horn is placed at the centre of the steering wheel (it would’ve been nice to have some that control surface extend toward the rim for easier access), the ride height makes it prone to bottoming out on some of the more ludicrously-sized speed breakers, and the voice recognition sometimes leaves you a tad peeved at having to repeat instructions more than you need to.

But these shortcomings fade into insignificance; over time you find yourself readily making allowances for them. The E250 CDI is, at the end of the day, a veritable tour de force of power and refinement, with intelligent and even pre-emptively thoughtful systems that up the standard for luxury cars of its class.